Facebook's new look draws criticism from area users

New look for social networking site draws criticism from area users

Amanda Cuda, Staff Writer

Published
8:35 pm EDT, Thursday, September 22, 2011

Geralda Moise, 20, a mass communications major at the University of Bridgeport, scans Facebook during her media management class at U-B. Moise is one of many Facebook users who dislike the recent crop of changes to the social media site. less

Geralda Moise, 20, a mass communications major at the University of Bridgeport, scans Facebook during her media management class at U-B. Moise is one of many Facebook users who dislike the recent crop of ... more

Photo: Amanda Cuda

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Geralda Moise, 20, a mass communications major at the University of Bridgeport, scans Facebook during her media management class at U-B. Moise is one of many Facebook users who dislike the recent crop of changes to the social media site. less

Geralda Moise, 20, a mass communications major at the University of Bridgeport, scans Facebook during her media management class at U-B. Moise is one of many Facebook users who dislike the recent crop of ... more

But Moise, along with many others in the region, was taken aback this week when Facebook introduced a slew of changes, including larger photo displays, an option to group friends into categories and an altered news feed. The homepage now displays "top stories," and "recent stories," and a ticker on the right side that runs updates from friends in real time.

Many said the alterations made the once-clean and simple site overwhelming and needlessly confusing.

"I absolutely hate it," said Moise, a mass communications major from Bronx, N.Y. "There's too much going on. It's like you have to learn Facebook all over again."

She was one of several students in Susan Katz's media management class at UB on Thursday who voiced concerns about the new Facebook changes. Chris Hogan, a senior majoring in journalism, said not only did he dislike the changes; he thinks they'll be detrimental to the overall health of Facebook.

"I don't see (that this will lead to) positive changes in the future," said Hogan, 21, of Smithfield, R.I. "I think there's just going to be more people complaining."

The changes were the start of many new features Facebook is introducing that will include new ways for members to share music, movies, TV shows and activities such as cooking.

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the new features at the F8 developers conference in San Francisco Thursday.

The social networking site is beefing up its features to entice users to spend more time on the site and to prevent Web surfers from flocking to competing social networks including Google-plus, which had about 29 million users at the end of July, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

The changes, however, irritated some users who think of their Facebook page as their own personal site, forgetting that someone else actually controls it.

People take Facebook seriously because it's a vehicle for them to share photos and information that's personal to them, said Alex Halavais, associate professor of communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.

"Changing Facebook is kind of the equivalent of someone changing your favorite outfit for you," he said.

The changes also rankled fans who don't want to have to learn to navigate the page all over again.

"Facebook constantly tinkering with its core simplicity has caused many people to wonder whether adults are in charge," said Rich Hanley, associate professor of journalism at Quinnipiac. "It turns people away from the idea that this is an easy, simple way to communicate."

The latest changes are "tailored at making sure this news feed is what you want to see," said Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering at Facebook. So far, that's been good for business. The company is expected to bring in $3.8 billion in worldwide advertising this year and $5.8 billion in 2012, according to eMarketer, a research firm.

Indeed, many of those interviewed said, despite their frustration with what feels like constant Facebook changes, they probably aren't going to abandon it.

"I'll get used to it over time," said Althea Benloss, 21, of Bronx, N.Y., who is also in Katz's media management class. "But right now, it's too much to take in."